The Cost of Inaction

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OSHA Regulations on Workplace Toxics Stalled Alan White, a 47-year-old foundry worker from Buffalo, N.Y., who suffers from silicosis. Alan White's pique was aroused recently when he viewed a 1938 film called Stop Silicosis. The grainy video features FDR's secretary of labor, who says silicosis can be prevented if safety measures are "conscientiously adopted." White suffers from the debilitating disease caused by exposure to silica dust. The foundry where White worked since 1995 was full of dust. Silica was routinely knocked loose and it hung in the air. Dust masks were available but the workers almost never used them. A federal effort to put standards into place to protect workers like White has stalled for 15 years. The price of inaction on this and other workplace toxics is staggering - $58 billion for a single year. The human cost is even higher. White knows now that his disease was probably preventable. At a Senate hearing in April, he put a written statement into the record. "If there were better OSHA rules for silica," he wrote, "I may not be sick today." OSHA in the News May 30, 2012 -- A whistleblower who was fired by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration after complaining publicly about the poor quality of injury and illness data kept by employers has won a major court victory. Read More

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